Bias v. Advantage International, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
905 F.2d 1558 (1990)
Basketball star Leonard Bias signed a representation agreement with Advantage International (defendant) shortly before dying of a cocaine overdose. Bias's estate (plaintiff) sued, claiming Advantage failed to obtain a $1 million life-insurance policy the family had relied on Advantage to secure, and separately that Advantage failed to land an endorsement deal with Reebok before Bias's death. Advantage presented uncontradicted evidence that every insurer asks about drug use for policies of this size, and that its representation agreement never actually obligated it to secure any particular endorsement deal. The estate offered no evidence rebutting testimony about Bias's specific instances of drug use. The district court granted Advantage summary judgment, and the estate appealed.
Whether summary judgment is appropriate where the moving party's evidence shows no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.